Great build up in the first half, but when the Doctor showed up things got to be a bit confusing. I felt they could've done a better job at explaining the virus, and in the end there are just too many unanswered questions.

I gotta give points for the great acting, originality, and the overall atmosphere created, though. I have a feeling that with future viewings I may appreciate this more, but for now.....3.5/5

Shrooms bring out the primitive in William Hurt: psychedelic mindtrip with amazing optical effects and lots of creepy moments. Great soundtrack, early bladder f/x (one year before The Howling) but the ending came a bit too soon for my taste. This should make for a neat double feature with Demon Seed (1977). 4.5/5

I have to completely disagree with Rhett about any part of this plot (or execution) seeming fresh or interesting. In fact- it's so bad, it hurts. I didn't just wince during moments like, "so what's she called?" "The Why-Not?" I groaned and gritted my teeth so hard, I think I may have chipped one of them. Ironside is the best thing here, no doubt. And Kilner is a stud for sure, but he is terribly miscast. Don Hood and Kim Delaney on the other hand? Intolerable, tacky, callow, completely unconvincing in both parts. Hood is clearly trying to play some big Ben Gazzara-esque hot shot but all he does is blather on. And on and on and on and on and on. I was alone watching this. And I spoke to the screen; during the moment where he's shoved over the balcony, he just won't shut up. Not for a second. I think even the music was starting to become unusually loud in an effort to drown him out. And yet, there's not really any point. At first, we see how pathetic this guy is and we know how cool Kilner is (although he comes off very down to Earth, sweet, and approachable). Then he has to downgrade Kilner as a means to make himself look less pathetic, while he's wearing the tackiest, cheapest looking shirts you could imagine. I mean- if he's trying to rub his wealth in the other guy's face, his dialogue should be making a bigger deal out of it. Rhett was right about one thing: this is too short to be effective. The best example is the lovemaking scene. If you can call it that; Kilner comes off like a whore and we don't even get the moneyshot. Hell, the camera is afraid to see the guy's nipples(!), so a simple sequence with him putting on a shirt is cut awkwardly. But is that worse than the fact that this scene is divided up into 20-30 second incremented sections devoted to actually kicking the plot in gear, yet in the process completely revealing the ending? You get about 25 seconds of foreplay / innuendo, sex, after 25 seconds of that- they're scheming to kill the husband, after 25 seconds of that- he's in love with her. And, really, based on that, and her obvious / rushed performance when Ironside shows up, you know she doesn't love him back and is going to screw him over somehow. Oh, and the parrot is clearly voiced by an actor. Badly. I liked the opening credits sequence and the music, but everything else fell faster than chubby Sebastian plummeting from the balcony.

This one is particularly wrong. Did we really need HBO making judgments about how "sad" it is that Don Rickles is old and only hookers and bimbos will sleep with him? Or that Bob Goldthwait's career in many people's eyes is a fluke, as was the success of the Police Academy franchise? Yeah, I'm not really in the mood to watch a "just desserts" episode about 2 washed up tragic figures who didn't do anything to deserve the crap the show hands to them. What's more- the freakshow ending is stupid and ridiculous, the "gags" have no payoff, and Morty is the most annoying pint-sized talking killer this side of Oopsy Daisy. And, after how depressing the episode tries to be, where do they get off throwing "comedy" at us like that? Little Monsters was more comedically adept than this episode's 3rd / 4th act! Among the many things that bother me about this episode, the one that stuck out Monday night was: why would Billy call Morty "inbred" as an insult when him and Ingles were twins- so the guy would literally be saying the exact same thing about his hero, the man he claimed he idolized and wanted nothing more in the world than to be just like?

Not much to say about this one, which of course is hardly a good sign with a horror movie / show. Lewis Arquette is good but he's unlikable because he's mean, Stefan Gierasch is okay but he's unlikable because he's annoying (sorry, but he comes off like a belligerent blockheaded asshole), Mark Rolston is doing that thing where I can't take his accent seriously (then he takes off his jacket and my mind got a bit buzzy after that), the women in the cast are terrible (yes... even the little girl), and Jeff Yagher's Enoch would be more sympathetic if he were given more character- instead he comes off like some pitiful wild animal (must get my seed into some form of a once-female vagina). It doesn't help much that this episode is just hopelessly preoccupied with balls. UGH!

I don't like the music (which is sorry considering I thought Jan Hammer did an incredible job on "Three's a Crowd"), the husband is hammy ("you'll come home..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... to'me"), and believe it or not, I don't believe they made it very clear what Richard Thomas was doing touching her leg and leaning in with the towel like he wanted to kiss her and undoing her straitjacket just a little too slowly (even though her gown has a top). Oh, and... why make the nurse even notice that the doctor is up to no good if not only is she going to do nothing about it but also, not be in any other scenes? Also, none of the cast have any real character or charisma- they couldn't be more wooden. Except for Thomas and and Patricia Clarkson, who is mostly silent acting. Anyway- thanks to them, this works out okay. Basically. Oh, and and... did anyone else think it was hilarious that the wife's first reaction to being bashed in the head with the lamp base (causing her to hit the ground like bricks, face covered in blood) was to shout: "what kind of a person are you to do something like that when someone's just having a conversation with you?!?!"

Are you saying "superior" to Carpenter's 1982 THE THING? IMO Carpenter's version is superior to just about every film I've seen.

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Carpenter's version of The Thing is literally one of the most intelligence insulting films I've ever seen. I love the music, the cinematography, the lighting, and the "you've gotta be fucking kidding" spider head. But aside from that- the movie assumes the audience is so stupid that we need every subtle idea SLEDGEHAMMERED into our heads. To be fair, I guess Halloween and The Fog were equally as blunt but would it be strange of me to say that those films having women who didn't assume they had to play butch (I'm looking at you, Lori Cardille) to share the screen with Tom Atkins and a former Bond villain made them easily superior, better balanced, and more watchable films? Something about the Thing's extreme token sausageism means fans of it can now say there's no over-the-top since... EVERYONE is going over the top. But they're all men, so: who cares- all they have to do is act tough.

See what I mean... Give me one solitary example of a nuance anywhere in The Thing. Just one! The movie isn't about paranoia slowly bubbling into hysteria- everyone is hysterical from the getgo! Actually, Donald Moffat comes close. But anyone else? I don't think so. People like it and that's the reason it's considered such a masterpiece. Everytime I hear someone try to make an argument for its' masterpiece status, I have to wonder when was the last time they actually saw it.

Carpenter's version of The Thing is literally one of the most intelligence insulting films I've ever seen. I love the music, the cinematography, the lighting, and the "you've gotta be fucking kidding" spider head. But aside from that- the movie assumes the audience is so stupid that we need every subtle idea SLEDGEHAMMERED into our heads. To be fair, I guess Halloween and The Fog were equally as blunt but would it be strange of me to say that those films having women who didn't assume they had to play butch (I'm looking at you, Lori Cardille) to share the screen with Tom Atkins and a former Bond villain made them easily superior, better balanced, and more watchable films? Something about the Thing's extreme token sausageism means fans of it can now say there's no over-the-top since... EVERYONE is going over the top. But they're all men, so: who cares- all they have to do is act tough.

See what I mean... Give me one solitary example of a nuance anywhere in The Thing. Just one! The movie isn't about paranoia slowly bubbling into hysteria- everyone is hysterical from the getgo! Actually, Donald Moffat comes close. But anyone else? I don't think so. People like it and that's the reason it's considered such a masterpiece. Everytime I hear someone try to make an argument for its' masterpiece status, I have to wonder when was the last time they actually saw it.

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I've watched THE THING twice in the last five years. I'm not qualified to argue whether or not its technically a masterpiece, but I know what I like when I see it. The things you love (the music, the cinematography, the lighting, and the spider head) are responsible for creating the suffocating tension and isolation I feel when I watch the film. I guess the "lack of nuance" never bothered me. Add to that, I don't think I've ever been bothered by anything in a film being "over-the-top". It's interesting to hear a negative opinion of THE THING (haven't heard many). I'm only sorry I can't refute what you are saying, but IMO, THE THING is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing.

You mention a few excellent things about THE THING. I also love the "pull no punches" ending, the overall premise, and most of the acting performances.

Oct.11th.
Trailer Park Of Terror-It was an alright zombie film very influenced by 2,000 Maniacs by H.G. Lewis. The combination of humor and sadistic violence made for a strange viewing experience, much of the humor felt forced.
Oct.12th.
Sorority Row-Got this in the same three films for nine bucks box set as the film above at good ole Wal-Mart. Liked it better the second time around, the theatrical experience fell flat for me. In the comfort of my own home I appreciated it for what it was-a cheesy, typical post Scream era teen friendly horror/suspense film. Lots of awful dialogue and bad acting, but it definitely added to the experience.

Carpenter's version of The Thing is literally one of the most intelligence insulting films I've ever seen. I love the music, the cinematography, the lighting, and the "you've gotta be fucking kidding" spider head. But aside from that- the movie assumes the audience is so stupid that we need every subtle idea SLEDGEHAMMERED into our heads. To be fair, I guess Halloween and The Fog were equally as blunt but would it be strange of me to say that those films having women who didn't assume they had to play butch (I'm looking at you, Lori Cardille) to share the screen with Tom Atkins and a former Bond villain made them easily superior, better balanced, and more watchable films? Something about the Thing's extreme token sausageism means fans of it can now say there's no over-the-top since... EVERYONE is going over the top. But they're all men, so: who cares- all they have to do is act tough.

See what I mean... Give me one solitary example of a nuance anywhere in The Thing. Just one! The movie isn't about paranoia slowly bubbling into hysteria- everyone is hysterical from the getgo! Actually, Donald Moffat comes close. But anyone else? I don't think so. People like it and that's the reason it's considered such a masterpiece. Everytime I hear someone try to make an argument for its' masterpiece status, I have to wonder when was the last time they actually saw it.

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Since you're assuming your typical extremist stance I doubt anything I say is going to change your mind. But I couldn't disagree more. You make The Thing seem as preachy and clumsy as Diary of the Dead.

If the film is as unsubtle as you maintain, where is the John Wayne-like hero? MacReady is a drunk. Childs is a hothead. Blair seems to be discovering critical information about the nature of the threat. But he quickly unravels. And although Garry is the de facto leader he isn't respected by his men.

The original immediately establishes Captain Hendry as a traditional clean-cut military hero--square-jawed, brave, and revered by his men. A character like that gives the audience a sense of comfort that things will turn out OK at the end. But that feeling is totally absent in the remake, largely since Carpenter's characters all have obvious flaws.

I also don't see any over-the-top acting. Yes, there's a great deal of hysteria as the situation escalates. But the scenes following the opening drama establish a sense of dull routine. You can see the tension and resentment between certain characters that will explode later in the film. But there's a strong sense of business as usual prior to the dog pen scene. A dumb film would skip those scenes and get to the next setpiece.

And yes, certain characters eventually become hysterical. But is hysteria an unreasonable reaction given the situation? The men in The Thing are in a situation where safety of any kind is unattainable. You should really check out Joe Pilato in Day of the Dead if you want to see over-the-top acting.

I've never seen a first-time viewer accurately predict which characters are Things--a testament to the sly and nuanced nature of the performances. Carpenter doesn't resort to the type of overly blatant red herring techniques you see in lousy genre films. His goal is tension, not misdirection. He's not trying to establish incorrect audience expectations about who's a Thing as much as he wants the audience to suspect EVERYONE might be. The actors are never winking at the audience like they are in a Charlie Chan film.

In lesser films of this type, the humans eventually gain the upper hand either through exaggerated bravery or unlikely scientific superiority. But it's clear that the humans are desperately behind the curve in Carpenter's The Thing. They aren't a physical threat to the enemy. And though they eventually gain a better idea of who's infected, their situation is still beyond dire. Carpenter doesn't offer some nonsensical pseudo-science solution that evens the playing field but insults the intelligence of the audience.

And here's the ultimate argument against your position. If Carpenter was pandering to the lowest common denominator, where's the ridiculous happy ending? I've yet to meet a dumb person who likes an open-ended conclusion. But Carpenter refused to dilute his story by letting the humans win against unsurmountable odds. The story goes to its logical end--but still leaves matters somewhat unresolved.

And here's the unfortunate truth. If the ending was dumbed down The Thing undoubtedly would have been a better performer at the box office. But Carpenter was committed enough to his art that he refused to cave to that pressure.

It's OK to dislike the film. But the arguments you offered aren't particularly well supported.

Grizzly Park (2008) and 2001 Maniacs (2005) - Was a little tired tonight so went with some rewatches and light entertainment movies. Grizzly Park is the better movie but 2001 is better for silly gore and nudity.

22) Monster Dog: Wow this was stupid. I'm not sure what the hell happened with the audio on the film, but it was definitely dubbed, not to mention some of the worst editing ever. Alice Cooper pretty just slept walked through the whole performance and the rest of the cast wasn't much better. The film has some descent gore, but that was one of it's few redeeming qualities. (5/10)

23) Beast Within: This sure was a pleasant surprise. It's an odd mix between slasher, crime drama, and creature feature. Sure it takes a while to pick up the pace, but when it was in full swing I was engaged the whole way through. The young man in the film doesn't take full creature form until the last 20 or so minutes, which was disappointing, but the transformation is rather disturbing. (7/10)

[GLOW="Orange"]Damage's Halloween Horrors 2011[/GLOW]
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011:Zombieland (2009)
Nut up or shut up for a bloody, gory roadtrip starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and featuring Jesse Eisenberg as Michael Cera on a search for a zombie-free amusement park and the last twinkie on Earth. Pretty funny at times, especially when Bill Murray makes his appearance. "I just saw Eddie Van Halen at the Hollywood Bowl. He's a zombie."

The count so far...
01. Scalps (1983)
02. They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
03. Galaxy of Terror (1981)
04. The Last House on the Left (1972)
05. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
06. The Child (1977)
07. The Green Slime (1968)
08. Zombieland (2009)

Compared to other cavemen in modern times movies (which are few and far between) this ain't half bad in concept. Its execution however is something entirely different. Terrible off key honky rockabilly abounds with piss poor editing and dubbing. If you want someone to be ashamed of being white, have them watch Eegah! I'm going to go wash myself with tar pitch.

Elvira picks apart this flick fairly well in her skits, but for some reason actually holds off on some of the worst elements like "WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!" Maybe it's because MST3k milked that for all its worth already, but that hasn't stopped her before in 2010. At least we get her in a medium shot just about the entire time...

I am again running a little behind with what I've watched as it's hard to find the time to write up a little something on my viewings. Either way, here's the first update, and I will try and put up tomorrow what I've watched up to this point. Enjoy!

Home Improvement S:3 - Crazy for You (1993) - This is my favourite Home Improvement Halloween episode. This time everyone gets revenge on Tim by pulling a huge prank, convincing him that he has an obsessed fan named Rose. I love how it is all put together, although I think it would have worked even better if they didn't give away right away that it is all a prank. I love Tim's corpse costume during the Halloween party in this one as well.

Ginger Snaps 3: The Beginning (2004) - After enjoying the first movie a lot more on its second viewing but not being too impressed with the sequel, I wasn't sure what I would think of this one. Well, it ends up sitting somewhere in the middle for me, being better then the second, but not nearly as good as the first. It was unexpected that they would make this film a prequel set during the settler days instead of continuing where the second film left off. I guess the latter movie was a bit of a mess that they thought it would be easier to forget about it and tell an unrelated tale, and thus giving them a way for Ginger to return in full force instead of through ghostly hallucinations. This movie has a great set up and lots of great ideas, although I don't know if they were fully successful with them. I liked the concept of a small town defending itself from werewolves, and even though it has been done to death, showing that the evil in men can be more frightening then the monsters outside. Unfortunately it seemed like a lot of the ideas were squandered and not played out as well as they could have been, and the main plot is really just a rehash of the first film, dealing with Ginger again being bitten and the consequences that follow. I can happily say the characters are a lot less annoying this time though, and there is a great scene with a native warrior fending off attacking werewolves that makes it worth the time alone.

My Name Is Bruce (2007) - I have owned this film for a while now, but after being really excited during its production stages it all kid of died down for me when I saw the trailer and read reviews on it. It's not that the reviews were bad, I'm pretty sure more were positive then not, but for some reason my interest in it faded. Well I'm glad I finally dug it out and watched it as I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. This is a film made by Bruce Campbell fans for Bruce Campbell fans. I'm sure others could find still get some enjoyment out if it, but most of the fun comes out of the references and jokes related to previous Campbell films. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments in this flick, usually involving one liners from Bruce and how much of a dick he is in this film. It is extremely low budget though, and some of the acting is almost unbearable, but none of that really bothered me too much as I was watching a film made for me and enjoying every minute of it. Hopefully that long rumored vampire sequel comes sooner rather then later as I need me some more Bruce.

The Simpsons S:2 - Treehouse of Horror (1990) - This is the ones that started it all, and although I do like it, it's not their best work. Their are three tales told in this one from Bart and Lisa trying to one up each other in their treehouse while Homer sits outside frightened, "Bad Dream House" about a house that will do anything to get the Simpsons out, "Hungry are the Damned" about aliens (Yes the first appearance of the now famous Kang and Kodos ) who abduct them and fatten them up to possibly eat them, and "The Raven" a reading of the famous Poe poem from none other then James Earl Jones. None of the episodes are bad, I actually really like the alien one, and who doesn't enjoy a reading of "The Raven"? It's just there really aren't any stand out episode here either. They get much better later on though.

Dracula (1931) - I'm pretty sure I watched this film years ago for High School project, but I'm not sure if I finished it all as I didn't remember a lot of it. This is the only Universal monster movie I have seen and for all the rap it gets for being the worst, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to check out the rest (I am awaiting an order containing most of the other films). It is a slow paced picture but that didn't bother me too much considering the whole thing is just over an hour long. I actually wish they would have given it an extra 10 or 20 min. as some aspects seemed slightly rushed. It is the standard tale based on Stoker's novel, and I loved the gothic settings, but the main reason to watch this film is to see Bela Lugosi's stunning performance as the Count. He was a great actor and it's too bad he got shafted to the B movie rank and didn't get to do a lot of quality pictures. I think I still prefer Hammer's Dracula film slightly more, but I don't know if I can say I prefer Lee over Lugosi as they both are great Counts! Oh and I wanted to add I watched this on the remastered 75th Anniversary DVD, and I must say it looked and sounded pretty bad. I know it is an old film but I hope if this ever comes out on Blu Ray that they can spend a little money and get it cleaned up as I know with a little work it could look and sound much better.

13 Ghosts (1960) - I didn't expect much from this film, thinking the whole movie would just rely on its Illusion-O gimmick (Which was a lot of fun I must add) but I actually really enjoyed this movie! I love the idea of ghosts caught and trapped in a house that can only be seen with a special set of glasses. The story of a family inheriting a haunted house has all been seen before and the conclusion of the film is not surprising either if you have seen your fair share of haunted house flicks, but for some reason I just really dug this film!

Roseanne S:2 - Boo! (1989) - Roseanne is in my opinion the queen of Halloween. No other show celebrated Halloween quite like she did, and no other show has since. They were always the episodes I looked forward to each and every season, and even if you don't enjoy the blue collar family's antics, I still enjoy you check these out as I'm sure you can find something to like whether it be the great sets, props, costumes, or pranks. I believe she stated in one of her commentaries that they would always spend a little less on each episode so they had a big budget for the Halloween episodes. Anyway, this episode is my favourite and probably my favourite Halloween episode of any show, yes even beating out the Simpsons and Peanuts specials. In this episode Dan and Roseanne engage in a prank war to see who is the king/ or queen of Halloween. They always throw on a great haunted house walkthrough for all of the trick or treaters.

Roseanne S:3 - Trick or Treat (1990) - In this episode Roseanne dresses as a man and gets stuck at a bar. She decides to take this opportunity to find out what men really talk about. This is a good episode with many hilarious moments but it is a missing some of that Halloween charm as most of the episode takes place at bar where there are no costumes other then Roseanne.

Roseanne S:4 - Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down (1991) - Another stand out episode where the Connor's pull a prank on their new neighbor Kathy who doesn't find it very funny. Roseanne then spends the rest of the night at the lodge party convinced that she will try and get her back. This episode has my favourite costume from Dan and Roseanne, playing a corpse and his dummy.

Roseanne S:5 - Halloween IV (1992) - In this episode Roseanne has lost her Halloween spirit and is visited by three ghosts to help her get it back. A great Halloween take on A Christmas Carol, and one I'm surprised has not been done again.

A Haunting S:1 - The Haunting of Summerwind (2005) - This episode was a little scarier then the first, especially when the husband quits his job, becomes increasingly angry, and plays the organ all night. It kind of had an Amityville feel to it with the husband slowly changing into an angry and violent person.

A Haunting S:1 - Hell House (2005) - I was excited to watch this episode based on it's title but was sorely disappointed with this one. It was kind of boring and nothing made it stand out from any other haunting story.

The Simpsons S:3 - Treehouse of Horror II (1991) - This time the three tales were bad dreams Lisa, Bart and Homer have after eating too much candy. Lisa's dream is about a monkey's paw that grants the family wishes, only to have each dream turn out badly, Bart's dream is based on a Twilight Zone episode where the town lives in fear as Bart has the power to do anything and last but not least is Homer's dream, based upon the Frankenstein story. This episode was a huge step up in quality from the first treehouse, although Bart's story wasn't that good and only the third tale was really horror related. Homer's bad dream was definitely the highlight though, and the surprise ending would become a staple.

The Simpsons S:4 - Treehouse of Horror III (1992) - Tis is one of the better Treehouse of Horror episodes including the classic "Clown Without Pity" where Bart's Krusty doll is trying to kill Homer, "King Homer" a take on King Kong done in black and white of course, and "Dial 'Z' for Zombie" about Bart resurrecting the towns' dead. This is an episode where all three stories were really good. I would probably say the zombie story was the best, but again they are all high recommendations. You have to love when Bart shouts, "You just killed zombie Flanders!" and Homer replies, "He was a zombie?". Awesome!

Home Improvement S:6 - I Was A Teenage Taylor (1996) - I skipped Home Improvement's Season 4 and 5 Halloween episodes as Halloween only played a small part in those episodes. This season they get back on track though with Tim and Jill getting revenge on Brad and Randy for the pranks they have been pulling by pulling a prank of their own. They hire an actor to convince the boys that a murder took place in their house, Randy's room to be exact, and now the murderer has been released and is returning home. There's just something about Halloween and pranks that I love and this episode does a good job going back and forth with the pranks.